ASSAY OF MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES TYPE-1, TYPE-2, TYPE-3 AND TYPE-9 IN BREAST-CANCER

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc dependent endopeptidases imp licated in cancer invasion and metastasis. Gelatin zymography was perf ormed on 84 human breast carcinomas and seven normal breast tissues. T he precursor form of MMP-2 (72 kDa) was found in 11 (12%) samples, whi le its two activated forms, i.e. 62 kDa and 59 kDa, were found in thre e (6%) and 34 (40%) samples respectively. In contrast to MMP-2, most o f the samples (52%) contained MMP-9 in its precursor form. Using ELISA , MMP-1 levels were found in 12% of the samples while MMP-3 levels wer e found in only 2% of the samples. Levels of MMP-2, -3 and -9 correlat ed inversely with numbers of nodal metastases. Neither MMP-2 nor -9 le vels were significantly related to patient outcome. However, patients with high levels of a 50-kDa gelatinase band after zymography had a si gnificantly better survival than patients with low levels. This specie s was never observed in normal breast tissue.